Raising Awareness for Suicide Prevention

A group of 200 people took to the streets around the University of Maine Sunday, for an event called the Out of the Darkness Community Walk.The goal of the walk is to raise awareness and money for suicide prevention.Kylie Cole is a psychologist with the counseling center on the UMaine campus. She says suicide is an issue that doesn’t get discussed enough because it can seem so hard to talk about.But, both organizers of the event and those who’ve been touched by the issue personally say that talking about depression can help a lot. “Adolescents 15-24 are in the highest risk group for suicide. It’s the second leading cause of death for those students, so it’s really an important time to bring people’s awareness to it. It’s not something that people talk about,” Cole says.”If you open the lines of communication, you never know. You might be able to save someone you never even know you saved,” says Wanda Cunningham, of Orono.The Out of the Darkness Walk is an event taking place in more than 200-communities this fall.Proceeds benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, an organization that funds programs in research, education and awareness, while providing support to those affected by suicide.Cole says a good portion of the proceeds end up back in local communities.